Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) on Saturday reached out to Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on Saturday for support in Senate elections.
According to details, a PPP delegation comprising of Nasir Hussain Shah, Murtaza Wahab, Sharjeel Memon and Waqar Mehdi visited MQM-P headquarters in Bahadurabad, where they were welcomed by the party’s senior deputy convener Amir Khan.
During the meeting, both sides discussed the upcoming Senate elections as the PPP leaders sought MQM-P support for their candidates.
Sources privy to the details of the meeting said Nasir Hussain Shah congratulated Faisal Subzwari over possibilities of him becoming a Senator in the upcoming polls from the province.
Following the meeting, the party leaders held a joint press conference where they announced the development.
Information Minister Sindh Nasir Hussain Shah said PPP was ready to withdraw its candidates on two seats, however, MQM-P would also have to provide support in getting Yousuf Raza Gilani elected as the new Senate chairman.
The minister said that the delegation had met MQM-P on party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s directives. “Muttahida Qaumi Movement-P has said that they will forward our requests to their Raabta Committee,” Shah said.
The information minister claimed that the ruling PTI was “very scared in Punjab” as their members had reservations about the candidates chosen for the elections. Taking over the briefing, MQM-P leader Amir Khan, thanking PPP for their visit, said that although PPP was a bit late, it is appreciable that they had put forward their request to the MQM-P.
Khan said his party had appealed to PPP to put an end to the “feeling of deprivation” among the citizens of Sindh. “The issue of partnership and local bodies is also a problem.
The interest around Senate elections will wane eventually, but the problems will still need to be resolved,” he said.
The two sides, according to sources, also discussed matters pertaining to COVID-19 vaccination and other virus-related measures besides mainly focusing on the elections of the upper house of the Parliament.
The MQM-P and PPP also shared concerns over the census process in the province with each other. It is pertinent to mention here that MQM-P is a coalition partner in the federal government with the PTI and both parties had already announced to support each other’s candidates.
Yesterday, Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Aminul Haque said that Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) will support Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) candidate for technocrat seat in the upcoming Senate elections.
Talking to journalists, Aminul Haque said that the PTI, in response, will support the MQM’s candidate for women’s reserved seat in the Senate.
Responding to a question, the federal minister said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader and former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani had contacted him three days back. He maintained that Gillani wanted to visit the MQM-P office.
Political pundits have termed the competition between Yousaf Raza Gillani and Hafeez Memon, the biggest contest of the Senate election on March 03, having consequences in national politics.
PPP is ready to withdraw two of its candidates in the upcoming Senate election in favour of MQM-P, it emerged on Saturday.
The development came after a PPP delegation comprising Nasir Hussain Shah, Sharjeel Memon, Murtaza Wahab, and Waqar Mehdi visited MQM-P’s office in Bahadurabad.
Following the meeting, the party leaders held a joint press conference where they announced the development. Information Minister Sindh Nasir Hussain Shah said PPP was ready to withdraw its candidates on two seats, however, MQM-P would also have to provide support in getting Yousuf Raza Gilani elected as the new Senate chairman.
The minister said that the delegation had met MQM-P on party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s directives. “Muttahida Qaumi Movement has said that they will forward our requests to their Raabta Committee,” Shah said.
The information minister claimed that the ruling PTI was “very scared in Punjab” as their members had reservations about the candidates chosen for the elections. Taking over the briefing, MQM-P leader Amir Khan, thanking PPP for their visit, said that although PPP was a bit late, it is appreciable that they had put forward their request to the MQM-P.
Khan said his party had appealed to PPP to put an end to the “feeling of deprivation” among the citizens of Sindh. “The issue of partnership and local bodies is also a problem. The interest around Senate elections will wane eventually, but the problems will still need to be resolved,” he said.
